ZEN

Without
Zen Masters
By
Camden
Benares
Commentary by
Robert
Anton
 ZEN
WITHOUT
ZEN
MASTERS
 ZEN
WITHOUT
ZEN
MASTERS
By Camden Benares
Commentary By
Robert Anton Wilson

Illustrated by
Deborah M. Cotter

1993
NEW FALCON PUBLICATIONS
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A.
 Copyright © 1977 Camden Benares

All rights reserved. No part of this book, in part or in

whole, may be reproduced, transmitted, or utilized, in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher, except for brief quotations in critical articles,
books and reviews.

International Standard Book Number: 0-56184-073-4

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 85-70387

First Edition 1977 (And/Or Press)

Second Printing 1978
Third Printing 1978
First Falcon Edition 1985
Second Printing 1988
Third Printing 1990
Fourth Printing 1993

New Falcon Publications

655 East Thunderbird
Phoenix, Arizona 85022 U.S.A.
 IF YOU LIKE

ZEN WITHOUT ZEN MASTERS

YOU WILL WANT

CAMDEN BENARES'S

LONG AWAITED NEW BOOK

A HANDFUL OF ZEN
FROM NEW FALCON PUBLICATIONS
 PREFACE

In my search for an understanding of Zen, some o f my

first questions were: What is Zen? What can it do for me?
How do I get into it? The following statements are my cur­
rent best answers to those questions.
Zen is the radical approach to Buddhism. Historically,
Zen arose as a Buddhist sect resulting from a blend of Bud­
dhism and Taoism. According to some traditions, Zen came
into being with the meeting of Buddha and Lao Tse about
2,500 years ago. However, most authorities believe Zen devel­
oped in China in the sixth century of the common era when
Indian Buddhist missionaries encountered Taoists. Zen spread
to Japan via China and Korea in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, and from Japan to the West at the beginning of the
tw entieth century.
What Zen has done for me is to clarify and liberate my
state of consciousness. Zen offered a way o f experiencing
life directly, a way of learning who I was and how I wanted
to live.
There are two approaches to getting into Zen. The for­
mal approach is to study with a Japanese Zen Master. The in­
formal approach is an individual study program using what­
ever materials are available. The informal approach results in
what I call Western Zen. I see it as the next step in the radical
Zen tradition. Zen W ithout Zen Masters represents my at­
tem pt to share Western Zen with you.
This book may create questions in the minds o f some
readers. Are the Zen stories real? Many of the stories, includ­
ing some of the most improbable sounding ones, are taken
verbatim from life. Others are real events revised and edited
for a more meaningful presentation. A few are based on hear­
say from sources that vary in reliability. A small minority are
Zen in parable form.
Do the exercises and meditation guides work? To the
best of my knowledge and experience, they do. This doesn’t
mean that they will work for everyone at all times. Your ex­
perience should be your guide. I have no wish for you to do
anything that doesn’t produce results for you.
What is the purpose of this book? My words about Zen
are intended to aid you in “getting more out of life.” But
neither these words nor their meaning is Zen, because Zen is
the reality behind the meaning. This book is one tool to help
you experience that reality in its fullness.
( 7 )
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface 7
Counterpoint by Robert
Anton Wilson 11
I Guides and Lovable Fools 15
Solitary System 16
Masters and Teachers 17
Mai’s T ruth 18
Ben and the Fanatic 19
Audience Response 20
A Common Disease 21
Pop Quiz 22
Ho Chi Zen’s School 23
Dr. Zen 24
A Ringing in the Ears 25
Hypoc’s Earring 26
Lucas’ Meditation 27
Otis and the Older Student 28
Peter and the Japanese
Zen Master 29
The Zen Temple A ttendant 30
Ho’s First Sermon 31
Gladys and the Zen Master 32
Advance from the Retreat 33
The A rtist’s Enlightenment 34
Expensive Advice 35
Voting 36
The Right to Die 37
Obstacles 38
The Priest 39
Enlightenment of a Seeker 40
Ho Chi Zen Confides Again 41
II Personal Work 43
Personal Work 44
Living Zen 44
Instant Enlightenment 44
Focus 45
Change 45
Pralaya’s Wisdom 46
Who’s in Charge Here 47
Responsibility Here and Now 48
Positioning 48
Directness 49
Patterns 49
Jerry’s Religion 50
Trouble-Free Action 51
Pay As You Go 52
Bob’s Enlightenment 53
Skills and Talents 54
Vision 54
Changing Times 54
Taking Risks 55
Good Vibrations 55
Personal Experience 55
Lucas’ Search 56
Sue’s Path 57
The Circle of Truth 58
Karma 59
Double Learning 60
Inner Space 60
Dual Fallacies 60
No Credit, No Blame 61
Attention 61
Past Burdens 61
Pattern Design 62
George’s Teaching 63
Coming to Terms with Death 64
Dimensions of Life 64
Madness 65
The Inmates 65
Jo Anne’s Enlightenment 66
The Names of Ho Chi Zen 66
III The Zen of Sex 67
Sex and Nirvana 68
Sex and Morality 69
Ben on Human Sexuality 70
Judd’s Vision 71
Sex After Liberation 72
Chastity and Other Perversions 73
What if Everybody Did It? 74
A Cure.for Paranoia 75
Jenny’s Liberation in Action 76
Alberto’s Insight 77
 Ben’s Romanticism 78 Freedom Exercise 114
Ho Chi Zen and the Dragon Lady 79 Questioning Exercise 114
Sexual Exercise 115
IV The Reality of Illusion 81
Garden Exercise 116
Reality 82
Getting Exercise 117
Good News, Bad News 83
Illusion and Reality 84 Pain-Easing Meditation 118
Pleasure Exercise 119
Zen Sense 85
Identity Risk 86 Secret Exercise 119
The Clock 87 Silent Exercise 119
Time Orientation 88 Libido Exercise 120
Open Secrets 88 Physical Exercise 121
Imagination 88 Reprogramming Exercise 122
Cause and Effect 89 Inventive Exercise 123
Belief and Creation 89 Recommended Reading 125
Science and Magic 89 About the Author 127
Ken’s Truth 90
A Mystical Experience 91
Wisdom Within 92
Solving the Mystery 93
Freedom and the Law 94
Lunacy 95
Inflation 96
A rt and the Artist 96
V Meditations and Exercises 97
Breathing Meditation 98
Moving Meditation 100
Walking Meditation 101
Transcendental Meditation 102
Daily Exercise 104
Being Exercise 104
Candle Exercise 105
Decisive Exercise 106
Energizing Exercise 106
Hanging Loose Exercise 107
Relaxation Exercise 108
Giving Exercise 109
Visualization Meditation 110
Living Exercise 111
Loving Exercise 111
Honesty Exercise 112
Invitational Exercise 112
Laughing Exercise 113
 COMMENTARY

Say the magic word and the duck will come down and pay you $100.
—Marx

Many readers of Illuminatus have asked me why Hagbard

Celine used the letters “ H.M.” and “ S.H.” after his name and
what these mysterious initials meant. I have always evaded
these questions in the past because I was not at all sure that
Hagbard wanted this story revealed. However, in Zen Without
Zen Masters, Camden Benares has blatantly disclosed all the
inner secrets of mysticism and he even reveals the early inci­
dent in Hagbard’s life from which the initials “H.M.” and
“ S.H.” derive. The story is called “Enlightenment of a Seeker”
and is on page 40.
Others have often asked me if all the characters in Illu­
minatus really existed. Indeed they do. The enigmatic Mala-
clypse the Younger in Illuminatus is the same individual as
“Mai” in Zen Without Zen Masters. (See, for instance, “ Mai’s
Truth” on page 18.)
The philosophy expressed in this book—also called “ Dis-
cordianism” or “ Erisianism” or even “Marxism-Lennonism” *
—is a group artwork, like reality itself. Camden Benares didn’t
invent it anymore than I did, or Mai did, or Ho Chi Zen did.
Like Topsy in Uncle T o m ’s Cabin, or the universe around us,
it “jes’ grew.”
Some say that the first Erisian atheologian was Zeno of
Elias who proved that an arrow can never hit its target (be­
cause first it must travel half the distance to the target, and
before that it must travel half of that distance or the origi­
nal distance, and before that it must travel half of that dis­
tance—or 1/8 of the original—etc., to infinity).
Others say the first Erisian was really Sri Syadasti, the
Hindu sage who announced that all affirmations are true in
some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense,
true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some
sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and true and false
and meaningless in some sense. But this is denied by those
who claim Sri Syadasti is not to be found in Hindu scripture

*Named after Groucho and John, of course. A basic Discordian koan is “Why
don’t we do it in the road?”

( 11 )
and was actually invented by the mischievous Ho Chi Zen.
It does seem fairly well documented that an Erisian
missionary arrived in the Bay Area of California in 1849 and
took the name Norton I, with the title “ Emperor o f the
United States and Protector of Mexico.” Norton was imme­
diately recognized as an Illuminated Being by the foremost
occult order in San Francisco, the Ancient and Accepted Free­
masons, who granted him a 33° and buried him, at his death
in 1880, in the masonic cemetery.
It is fairly well established that, although a pauper, Nor­
ton I was allowed to dine sumptuously in the best restaurants
of San Francisco; although a lunatic, he wrote letters which
were seriously considered by such folk as Abraham Lincoln
and Queen Victoria; and, although a charlatan, he was so be­
loved that 30,000 turned out for his funeral.
When the Committee of Vigilance, in an impetuous mood,
set out to burn down Chinatown on one occasion, N orton I
dispersed them by merely standing in the street, head bowed,
praying. As Lao-Tse says, “When the proper man does noth­
ing (wu-wei) his thought is felt 10,000 miles.”
Malaclypse the Younger has indicated N orton I’s impor­
tance, writing in his infamous Principia Discordia, “ Everybody
understands Mickey Mouse. Few understand Hermann Hesse.
Hardly anybody understands Einstein. And nobody under­
stands Emperor N orton.” Mordecai the Foul, High Priest of
the Head Temple of the Bavarian Illuminati, says of Norton
with simple awe, “ Live like him !”
What is the central truth behind Marxism-Lennonism,
Erisianism, Discordianism, Zen Without Zen Masters? On this
point, our leading atheologians are in agreement—and disagree­
ment (as might be expected). Mai says, simply, “God is a crazy
woman and Her name is Eris.” Ho says more abstractly and
less figuratively, “Hell is reserved exclusively for them that be-
live in it.” Camden says concisely, “ If we believe enough,
there will be whatamores. Do we really want any?” Mordecai
the Foul merely exclaims “F nord!” and hits you with a stick
if you ask again.
But, seriously, folks (as Bob Hope always says) Zen
Without Zen Masters, like all the other aspects of Operation
Mindfuck, is not a complicated joke disguised as a new form
of Buddhism. It is a new form of Buddhism disguised as a

( 12 )
complicated joke. Guerilla ontology. Epistemological judo.
If you don’t laugh at all, you’ve missed the point. If you only
laugh, you’ve missed your chance for Illumination. As Licht-
enberg said elsewhere, “ This book is a mirror. If a monkey
looks in, no philosopher looks o u t.”
Hail Eris!
OM!
Fnord?
—R obert A n to n Wilson
I. Guides
and Lovable Fools
 SOLITARY SYSTEM

There are many individuals who are liberated or who

appear to be so. Some of them seek disciples because they
have not heeded Nietzsche, who said, “What? You seek fol­
lowers? You would multiply yourself by ten, by a hundred,
by a thousand? Seek zeroes!” Remember this and know that
any system of liberation may work once, for one individual.

( 16 )
 MASTERS AND TEACHERS

When asked about masters and teachers, Ho Chi Zen al­

ways had this to say: “The Old Fox can learn more from the
Ynnnp Fool than the Young Fool can ever hope to learn from
the Old F o x .”
 MAL’S TRUTH

When an interviewer asked Mai if his teaching was serious

or humorous, Mai replied, “Sometimes I take humor seriously
and sometimes I take seriousness humorously. Either way it
is irrelevant.”
The interviewer responded by proposing that Mai was
crazy. Mai grinned and said, “Tndeed! Rut don’t reject these

/
teachings just because I am crazy. I am crazy because they
are true.”

( 18 )
 BEN AND THE FANATIC

In his teachings, Ben stressed that Zen was his path be­
;rious cause it allowed him to become himself. All the other routes
ously that allegedly lead to cosmic consciousness seemed to put
y it him in conflict with his own nature. He advised all seekers to
examine carefully what each system asked o f the potential
as initiate, keeping in mind three rules:
lese 1. What you are required to believe is what the system
*y cannot prove.
2. Anything that you are asked to keep secret is of
more value to the teacher than to the student.
3. Any practice that is forbidden offers something
that the system cannot successfully replace with an
alternative.
One listener asked, “Don’t you believe that giving up the
pleasures of the senses will produce a different consciousness?”
“My personal experience,” Ben replied, “was that it pro­
duced the consciousness o f fanaticism.”

( 19 )
 AUDIENCE RESPONSE

Ben was once asked how he expected anyone to take

some of his teachings seriously when they provoked so much
laughter from his listeners. He replied, “Laughter is the only
genuine form of applause.”

( 20 )
 A COMMON DISEASE

By surrounding himself with true believers, Waldo fell

into the trap of taking himself too seriously. This led to un­
happiness and ill health. When he asked Ralph, one o f the
few who had penetrated his multilevel cover stories, what he
thought the problem was, Ralph replied, “You’re suffering
from hardening of the orthodoxies.”
 POP QUIZ

Ralph, like many others in the rascal guru tradition, ex­

ploits the credulousness o f his students as much for his own
amusement as for their edification. When anyone asks how
he accumulated so much wisdom, he usually pulls their leg
by implying that he has been here for several centuries. Swal­
lowing that statement without a gulp, one student replied,
“It’s amazing how human you are.” Without a pause Ralph
responded, “After a thousand years or so you go native.”
 HO CHI ZEN’S SCHOOL

When Ho Chi Zen decided to take students, he put a

bowl for donations just inside the door. Over the small brass
container was a sign that read: If you wish to donate, do so
before class.
Habitually, Ho Chi Zen stood where he could see which
student donated and which student did not as they entered.
Asked why he did so, Ho explained, “Any student who con­
tributes three times in a row is dismissed for excessive
gullibility.”
 DR. ZEN

Omar was associated with a very unusual black man

whom he referred to as Dr. Zen. Anyone who tuned in on Dr.
Zen thought he was either crazy or very detached. Omar be­
lieved that Dr. Zen was quite literally a Christian Zen prac­
titioner.
When Omar learned that Dr. Zen advertised himself as a
Biblical analyst, he asked him how many times he had read
the Bible. “Oh,” he answered, “I’ve never read the Bible. I
don’t need to read it. If you understand just one verse in the
Bible, you understand it all.”
An onlooker asked, “Which verse is that?”
Dr. Zen replied, “Jesus w ept.”

( 24 )
 A RINGING IN THE EARS

n A celibate member o f a traditional Zen sect once asked

on Dr. Ho Chi Zen if he had taken any vows.
ir be- “After the Great Acceptance has been made,” Ho re­
rac- plied, “all vows tinkle like tin bells.”

If as a
ead
e. I
in the

( 25 )
 ■

HYPOC’S EARRING

During a social evening at Hypoc’s home, Mai, comment­

ing on the gold earring Hypoc wears in his left ear, asked if
anyone knew why a single earring, when worn, is invariably
worn in the left ear. Bert said that merchant seamen wear an
earring in the left ear to signify that they have crossed the
equator.
This led into a discussion concerning the possible sym­
bolic significance o f a mystical crossing o f a personal equator.
The talk touched on other points such as the left ear repre­
senting the individual freedom found on the left side o f con­
formity and o f the association of the left ear with the occult.
When the discussion waned, Mai asked Hypoc why he
wore the earring in his left ear. Hypoc replied, “I like to sleep
on my right ear.”

( 26 )
 LUCAS’S MEDITATION
imment-
;ed if After learning transcendental meditation, Lucas taught
riably the simple techniques to anyone who expressed an interest.
vear an Unlike many meditation teachers, he charged no m oney, ask­
I the ing only that meditators give him something o f value in re­
turn for his time. Instead o f an elaborate ritual in a foreign
; sym- language, Lucas gave a quiet talk on the way to em pty the
squator. mind of its chatter while candles burned and incense filled
epre- the room. One learner asked, “Why should I empty my mind?”
of con- Lucas, rephrasing Lao Tse, replied, “Wheels without empty
occult, centers cannot be used to haul, and the empty part o f the
ly he bowl makes it useful for holding food .”
to sleep
 OTIS AND THE OLDER STUDENT

An older student came to Otis and said, “I have been to

see a great number o f teachers and I have given up a great
number of pleasures. I have fasted, been celibate and stayed
awake nights seeking enlightenment. I have given up every­
thing I was asked to give up and I have suffered, but I have
not been enlightened. What should I do?”
Otis replied, “Give up suffering.”
 PETER AND THE JAPANESE ZEN MASTER

Peter, an actor and teacher, went to a Zen lecture on the

campus where he taught. A philosophy professor introduced
the speaker, a Japanese Zen Master, and the speaker’s asso­
ciate. Speaking in English, the Zen Master announced that he
would deliver the lecture in Japanese and that it would be
translated into English by his associate, who had a better
been to command of English. Peter asked the Zen Master to speak in
reat English, saying that the Zen Master’s English was excellent
stayed and that the associate could clarify any confusion during the
;very- discussion period.
have Looking at Peter, the Zen Master asked, “Who are you?”
Peter replied, “I am an actor.”
The Zen Master said, “Then you act,” and left the lec­
ture room.

( 29 )
 THE ZEN TEMPLE ATTENDANT

Jefferson went through despair, came out on the

other side, and began to develop a new life. He spent
his time taking care of his body and mind as one, instead
of two. When he learned that there was a Zen temple
near, he went to it and presented himself. The attendant
told Jefferson to go home because the proper time for
new students to come was posted. He said, “Now is not
the time. I am not ready to receive a new student.”
Jefferson knew that now is the only time and he under­
stood that the attendant wasn’t ready.

( 30 )
 HO’S FIRST SERMON

By listening carefully to the words o f teachers and lead­

ers of all kinds and then more or less doing as I pleased, by
avoiding both belief and doubt, and by letting my desires and
attachments tumble out in whatever order they attained
among themselves, I have managed quite resolutely to over­
come all temptations and remain in accord with the Tao.
But it hasn’t been easy, for the Path climbs a steep,
slippery rock and meanders incessantly. And also one never
knows but what the Buddhas and patriarchs were n ot the
fools they must have been. Besides, the True Way could be
as inorganically straight and narrow as they insisted.
Yet the Perfect Seer will persist in the knowledge that
any road traveled in harmlessness and devotion is the Peerless
Instructor.
 τ

GLADYS AND THE ZEN MASTER

In her search for Zen, Gladys went to a Japanese mona­

stery where she spent several months. Continually asking the
Zen Master, “What is Zen?” she received no answer.
To show how humble she was, Gladys cleaned the com­
munal bathrooms. The Zen Master was not impressed and she
felt humiliated.
When Gladys realized that if she wanted to clean bath­
rooms she could do that anywhere, she decided to leave. She
told the Zen Master o f her decision. He replied, “That is Zen.”

( 32 )
 ADVANCE FROM THE RETREAT

mona- Looking for personal growth, Jane went to a rural re­

:ing the treat for a few weeks. The fee she paid entitled her to room
and board plus instructions from a guru. As in many such
e com- places, students were used as slave labor for the good o f the
and she guru, who would tell them their labors were for their develop­
ment. When Jane felt that she had nothing more to learn
bath- from manual labor, she told the guru that his training pro­
fe . She gram was a masochist’s delight—an all day suffer. He re­
t is Zen.” sponded with “You must get beyond pleasure.” Jane an­
swered, “If you think you can get beyond pleasure without
going through it, we are definitely on different trips,” and
left.

( 33 )

i
 THE ARTIST’S ENLIGHTENMENT

An artist, depressed and almost unable to paint, con­

sulted Sam, a Zen-oriented therapist, for aid in coping with
his problems. He asked what the fee would be, explaining
that his income had dwindled since he was doing fewer paint­
ings. Sam said his fee would be two paintings. The first, to
be titled Despair, was to be completed before the therapy be­
gan; the second was to be titled by the artist and was to be
started when the therapy ended.
The artist painted Despair and presented it to Sam, who
looked at it and then threw it into the blazing fireplace. The
artist walked out. He returned a few days later with the
second painting.

( 34 )
 EXPENSIVE ADVICE

Omar and Giovanni were planning a joint venture that

looked as if it might make them both some m oney. Having a
genuine horror toward what middle class m oney does to most
people, Omar hesitated and asked, “What the hell will I do if
this scheme makes me rich? I’m not eager to handle that.”
Giovanni replied, “Omar, I’ve always given you lots of
advice that y ou ’ve never taken. If you get rich, I’ll just start
giving you expensive advice. You can take it, have lots of
interesting experiences and get rid o f m oney.”
“That sounds good, but give me a concrete example.
Let’s say I had fifteen thousand dollars to get rid of. What
should I do?”
“You know that famous guru w ho’s hung up on fast
cars? Okay, you buy the Italian sports car I was looking at
yesterday. Then we drive down to where he lives. When he
comes to the door, you give him the keys and say, ‘This is
your new car. We hope you enjoy it,’ and then we walk off.
He’ll call us back for an explanation and w e’ll tell him it’s
his with no strings attached. Then he’ll say ‘Isn’t there some­
thing I can do for you .’ You’ll look thoughtful and say, ‘Well,
there is one thing. Could you drop us o ff at the nearest bus
stop?’ ”
 ■

VOTING

Smitty described the following voting system to Omar:

Each candidate would have a yes and a no box after his or
her name, allowing each voter a choice between voting for a
candidate or voting against another one. Each negative vote
would cancel a positive vote. This, Smitty explained, would
prevent a politician who was elected from assuming he had a
mandate just because a few voters found him a better gamble
When he asked Omar what he thought o f the system, Omar
replied, “I never vote. It only encourages them.”

( 36 )
 THE RIGHT TO DIE

nar: A potential suicide was talking to Ho Chi Zen, asking if

3Γ he had the right to commit suicide if he wanted to. Ho re­
ar a plied, “Anyone has a right to do anything. Every one else
ote has the right to resist it.”
>uld The student said, “Do you see suicide as a moral act?”
ad a Ho’s answer was, “Where there is no victim, every act is
mble morally right, but I personally think suicide is a symptom of
iar taking oneself too seriously.”

( 37 )
 OBSTACLES

Giovanni told Omar that he was interested in Zen but

there were two obstacles in his path to liberation through
Zen: one, he couldn’t understand most of what he had read
about Zen; two, he didn’t believe that he could bring himself
to make all the changes he felt he would have to make in his
actions if he embraced Zen.
Omar told him to read Alan Watts’ books on Zen and
then reread everything that he hadn’t understood before.
“That will take care of the first obstacle,” Omar said, “and
the second is merely an obstacle illusion. You do not make
your actions conform to some arbitrary standard. Your ac­
tions reflect you. In Zen, you and your actions are one.”

( 38 )
 THE PRIEST

An actor picked up a hitchhiker who revealed that he

was a Catholic priest who had left the Church. Explaining his
current situation, the former cleric said, “I’m living with a
woman. I love her and we want to get married. This morning
two representatives o f the church came to where I live. They
told me to appear at a hearing in San Francisco to determine
my relationship to the Church. I told them that I’m doing
sn but God’s will, but they didn’t believe me. Do you believe me?”
>ugh The actor replied, “Yes, I believe you. As part o f my
id read preparation to become an actor, I studied Zen. One o f the
himself things I learned is that if God’s actions appear irrational and
e in his inconsistent, you must remember that he is playing to the
broadest possible audience.”
n and
ore.
, “and
make
•ur ac­
ne.”

( 39 )
 ENLIGHTENMENT OF A SEEKER

A serious young man found the conflicts o f mid twen­

tieth century America confusing. He went to many people
seeking a way o f resolving the discords that troubled him,
but he remained troubled.
One night in a coffee house, a self-ordained Zen minister
said to him, “Go to the dilapidated mansion you will find at
the address which I have written down for you. Do not speak
to those who live there: you must remain silent until the
moon rises tomorrow night. Go to the large room on the right
of the main hallway, sit in the lotus position on top of the
rubble in the northeast corner, face the corner and meditate.
He did as the Zen minister instructed. His meditation
was frequently interrupted by worries. He worried whether
or not the rest of the plumbing fixtures would fall from the
second floor to join the pipes and other trash he was sitting
on. He worried how would he know when the m oon rose on
the next night. He worried about what the people who walked
through the room said about him.

( 40 )
 His worrying and meditation were disturbed when, as if
in a test o f his faith, effluvium fell from the second floor onto
him. At that time two people walked into the room. The
first asked the second who the man sitting there was. The
second replied “Some say he is a holy man. Others say he is
a shithead.”
Hearing this, the man was enlightened.

HO CHI ZEN CONFIDES AGAIN

Asked what was the purpose of Zen, Ho said, “By the

study o f Zen one can learn to help p eop le-or, that failing, at
least to get them o ff your back.”

( 41 )
 PERSONAL WORK

The most important work you will ever do is

upon yourself. Any occupation you engage in can be
used for that purpose, but not necessarily for a life­
time. Since most o f us select from visible alternatives,
we avoid confronting our fears and become what we
are least afraid of becoming. Now is the time to un­
derstand those fears so we can get on with our per­
sonal work.

LIVING ZEN

I have made all the right choices—I chose the

right path based on my ability to choose.
I am in the right place; there is no other place for
me to live my life and I could not live the life of
another-for it would not fit; it would not remain
another’s life, but become mine.

INSTANT ENLIGHTENMENT

That sudden awareness—the awakening o f the

Buddha w ithin -can come in an instant. The exper­
ience might be triggered by a concept, a word, an
event, a koan, a meditation or anything else perceived
in its fullness. It’s quite a bit like the overnight suc­
cess in show business: it’s frequently preceded by
years of hard work.

t M 8 i»
m K m

( 44 )
 You are personally responsible for your con­
tinued existence. There are many ways o f focusing
your attention elsewhere, but to really experience
your life, the focus must be on you as the center o f
the perceived universe. You may devote as much time
as you wish to causes as long as you don’t use them
as an excuse for trying to change others instead of
yourself. Anytime that you are doing something that
you think is not for you, re-examine both your think­ s
ing and your actions. If it isn’t for you, y o u ’re fool­ a J
ing yourself or doing it wrong. W

CHANGE

Life is a continuing process o f change. Resistance

to change and personal growth is one o f the most dif­
ficult ways to attempt to live because it requires a de­
nial of the process. One of the hazards o f refusing to
accept change in yourself is getting locked into the
habit of trying to change others so you can have the
illusion o f remaining the same. That way o f living will
take all your energy and yield no personal returns.
Why waste your energy on changing others? You can
use it to flow with the changes that are happening to
you and enjoy the unfolding o f your own life.

IgBpsjj

( 45 )
 PRALAYA’S WISDOM

Having had a vision that revealed that he would travel to

truth by an unexpected path, Pralaya investigated several
blind alleys in a quest for liberation. Asked how he avoided
discouragement, he said, “In learning the yoga of tying shoe
laces with the teeth, one must accept that sometimes the foot
will be in the m outh.”
 WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE?

You are the creator o f the reality that you experience.

Every event that occurs around you takes on meaning when
vou put your attention on it. During your lifetime you have
been exposed to a lot of conditioning, but you have selected
what seemed valid to you and made it part of your program­
ming. If reality is getting you down, examine the program­
ming that is in the biocomputer you call your mind. That
programming can be changed at any time because you are
your own programmer.

( 47 )
 Living in the here and now is concentrating on
the present in accordance with one s own nature. It is
not ignoring the future, but a recognition of the ignor­
ance of future events. Rather than an abandonment
of responsibility, it is the full acceptance o f who you
are, where you are and what you are doing. Welcome
to the here and now. Everything that you have exper­
ienced has been necessary to get you where you are
now. If you think that you have been in a better
jlace, stop looking backwards.

Living in the here and now can be done without

S an investment in the status quo. Be aware that inhei-
ΕΛ'Γλ
■?#·· ent in your identity is a high degree of adaptability.
That should be your focus whenever you become at- Uf
tached to the place to which you have adapted. Mak­
ing a drastic change to stay where you are always puts
vou in another place.

( 48 )
 There is always a choice in your course of action, al­
though you may have been conditioned to believe otherwise.
One of the best ways to decide which choice to make is to
list all the alternatives that you can think of while bearing in
mind that nothing is unthinkable. Divide those alternatives
into two categories—direct and indirect. The latter represent
those choices that require getting other people on your trip.
The direct choices need only your action. If you can t find
va direct course of action, rethink the entire situation.

S & m ssfei
-» h'A
m w m * :

Everyone learns the same lessons. From a cos­

mic point of view, the same thing happens to every­
body. Each individual has had experiences that taught
him or her a lesson that had to be learned. If someone
is stuck in a behavior pattern that provides little happi­
ness, the pattern will continue for as long as is neces­
sary to teach the individual what there is in that pattern
.that must be learned.

( 49 )
 JERRY’S RELIGION

When Jerry was working toward an advanced degree in

psychology, she attended an institution which had formerly
educated only students of one particular religion. The change
in the religious makeup of the student body caused “What’s
your religion?” to be one o f the questions often asked of
most new students. Jerry always responded to this query by
saying, “Zen Baptist.” Some people heard only Baptist and
Jerry related to them at that level. Other people heard only
Zen and Jerry found them to be more interesting. A few
heard what Jerry actually said and those were the people
that Jerry considered part of her peer group.

( 50 )
 TROUBLE-FREE ACTION

Things were going so well for Giovanni that he had diffi­

culty believing the reality he was experiencing. He seemed to
have dropped all his hungup habit patterns and was acting in
a way that he didn’t quite understand. To avoid the “This-is-
too-good-to-be-true” paranoia, he asked Omar what he could
tell him about the purpose of his new way of relating to the
world. Omar said, “Don’t worry about it. When you can’t
see through your own actions, you are operating at your
highest level.”

( 51 )
 PAY AS YOU GO

You are as free as you are willing to be. Each act of

freedom is your choice. If you see the situation in terms of
consequences from a personal point of view, you can deter­
mine the price of the act. The price may require that you
change the image you present to the world, that is, change it
in a way that makes it more like the person inside. The price
may be giving up a burden that you have become accustomed
to. Only you can determine the price, and only you can pay
it. Trying to influence others so they will help pay the price
for your freedom will rob you of it. Act directly. Experi­
ence life directly. That way you pay as you go and live in
freedom. Continued use of your freedom can free you o f the
urge to control others. You may become free o f the urge to
change yourself.

( 52 )
 BOB’S ENLIGHTENMENT

Having gone through a number of psychological and

of metaphysical changes, Bob felt that he was very different
ms of from most people he encountered. His acquaintances all
leter- seemed to be preoccupied with the distinctions between
you them and him. Finally, Bob began to believe that he was so
ange it strange that even people he hadn’t met could detect an alien-
e price ness about his appearance.
stomed To escape from this set of circumstances, Bob moved to
an pay a different city where he knew no one. Seeking employment,
; price he went into an agency. As soon as he walked in the door, a
)eri- man, who was talking with the manager, pointed at Bob and
e in said,'“He’s just the one I’m looking for. Check him out.”
l o f the The manager walked over to Bob and said, “Do you
rge to know your way around the city?”
“N o ” . ·
“That’s too bad. This man is a private detective and he
needs someone to follow people. He’s been here m ost of the
day waiting for the right person, someone who looks anony­
mous and can easily lose himself in a crowd.”

( 53 )
 SKILLS AND TALENTS

Let your skills and talents be your servants, not

your masters. Orient your efforts toward the realistic
requirements of the existing situation instead of to­
ward construing the requirements to be the same as
your capabilities.
zs;
VISION "Λ

Ordinary vision would not be possible if the eye

did not absorb light. Once the light has been absorbed,
it is not seen again in the same form. This does not
mean it ceases to function. One of the great uses for
\jthis light is self-illumination.______ _____________

CHANGING TIMES Λ
You are a process o f change. Your cells renew
themselves periodically, old concepts are replaced by
new and your new being reflects life s experience. ^
Flow with the changes. Be that new being. You don’t
have to make the person-you-used-to-be happy.

'ey.

m m
.

( 54 )
 ψ = TAKING RISKS

Getting yourself in a position where you can’t

ants, not lose often puts you in a position where you can’t win.
e realistic Fveryone takes a few risks in order to add spice to ex-
d o f to- · eriences. But the risk should always be gauged by
same as what is wagered, not by what might be won.

GOOD VIBRATIONS

Like vibrations attract. If you are getting a lot

of bad vibes in your life, put your attention on what
\ you are transmitting. What you send is what you get^

\f* ~ ~ PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Knowledge is superficial unless it is accompanied

ί renew by personal experience. Since superficial knowledge
laced by is an unstable foundation for a way o f living, Zen
ence. stresses becoming one with your experience. Thus,
Zen can lead to an understanding that the standard o f
living has little to do with the quality o f l i f e . _____^
 LUCAS’S SEARCH

Having been reared in poverty, Lucas aspired to middle

class comforts. After gaining some education and experience
with the world, he did not lose his taste for comfort, but real­
ized how little he prized the middle class value system. -
though he knew he could easily have one without the other,
many of his acquaintances assumed that he aspired to both
To liberate himself from what he considered middle class
contamination, Lucas searched for a guru to guide him to a
new level of consciousness. Ultimately he realized that p
tual advisers often tell their clients to give up all their worldly
possessions merely because they are not capable o f teaching
people how to enjoy them without beeaming i*ttached to
them. This realization led Lucas to the knowledge that his
search for liberation must begin inside himself.

( 56 )
middle
erience
SUE’S PATH
but real-
i. AI-
Through m editation, Sue found an inner source of
other,
both, strength and determination. By using these resources, she
changed her life into a series o f events that brought her hap­
die class
l to a piness and success. For her there is no conflict between or­
t spiri- derliness and her free spirit. As she says, “I find freedom
worldly only through organization.”
iching
I to
t his

( 57 )
 THE CIRCLE OF TRUTH

Once understanding has been reached-the understand­

ing that ignorance will not guarantee the illusion o f security -
the search for truth can begin. But truth is not a constant.
Like all other aspects of the greater reality, it is cyclic. A con­
cept emerges from the great void as heresy, grows into truth,
decays into superstition and returns to the void.

( 58 )
 KARMA

Karma is the force exerted by a person’s actions. It

stand- works in whatever manner an individual believes it does. In
:urity— that sense all karma is instant—just add belief.
tant.
, A con-
truth,

( 59 )

i
 DOUBLE LEARNING

Everything that you learn about the world tells

you how your brain works also, enabling you to per­
ceive yourself in that which you consider “not you.”
A thorough understanding o f this procedure will en­
able you to change the world by changing yourself.

INNER SPACE

When you are exploring the dark recesses o f your

mind, the people around you should be those holding
the flash-light of acceptance. Sometimes you can rec­
ognize two qualities in these people—they know them­
selves, and they know that nothing is unthinkable.

DUAL FALLACIES

x The subjective fallacy is: “If it works for me it

will work for everyone.” The objective fallacy is: “If
it works for me I can get anyone to believe that it
\ \ worked for m e.”

( 60 )
 NO CREDIT, NO BLAME

Accept your positive experiences without taking

credit and you have humility. Accept your negative
^experiences without blame and you have serenity

r ATTENTION

Your attention is a tool of your awareness. Your

energy is like sunlight that you can focus by using your
attention like a magnifying glass.

PAST BURDENS

The great value of the past is wisdom gained

from your experience and pleasant memories. Every­
thing else is excess baggage that handicaps the enjoy­
ment of the trip. Yesterday’s aches, pains and prob­
lems are not a burden here and now unless you
brought them with you.
 PATTERN DESIGN

Virginia’s existence consisted o f getting through one cri­

sis after another, all of them self-induced. She became so
skilled at kicking herself in the ass that she hated to give it
up no matter how much it hurt her. Glowing with unhappi­
ness and misery, she explained her bad karmic patterns to
anyone who would listen.
Her co-workers tired of their consciousness-shrinking
conversations with her. One o f them prepared a poster for
the office wall where Virginia would see it every time she be­
gan relating her troubles. It said, “Anytime you are in a pat­
tern that produces unhappiness, you will continue that pat­
tern until you learn the obvious lesson in it.”

D e.s ‘j n F or A \cunua{/y O perated Kicker

Oj>e.ra.±vr\j Instructions ·.
_Sutject (A)ys+andina
on platform 03)->
ostng ^ujo hands (c)
pulis -firmfy on
String ojhidc
p a s s e s -through
pulki)s ( f > arl0;
G.tva,^d\eS to
&). Opposing
9roTQ s f n n a
[ever /o^j<2^5 boot
O ) fo make
>ntact
(OLth ass
C^and
compiti-e me
CLTXui(r.

( 62 )
 GEORGE’S TEACHING

In Zen there is little emphasis on God or on Buddha be­

cause the focus is on becoming one with your experience.
Anything that keeps distance between a person and his or her
awareness of individual responsibility is a barrier to enlight­
enment. Even prayer can be a cop out. Or as George said,
“Don’t bother God. He’s got his own problem s-everything
he makes dies.”
 Ή
COMING TO TERMS WITH DEATH >

You who are reading or hearing this now will

die. The death rate is a constant one hundred percent.
Although the naturalness o f death is basic, our cultur­
al bias tends to treat it as an unexpected and foreign
intrusion. If you embrace the concept that you will
have your body as long as you need it, you can enjoy
it. Rejoice in the fact that it is completely recyclable.
The body has the wisdom that it is not needed for­
ever. That wisdom can become a working concept in
your life.

DIMENSIONS OF LIFE

The only dimension o f life over which you have

limited control is the length. By putting your atten­
tion on what you do to extend your life, you can
utilize the potential you have for its duration. But
be aware that every day you control the depth and
width of your experience, your life.

( 64 )
 MADNESS Λ
The mad are persecuted because so many find it
hard to love them. As for madness itself, it is the feel­
ing that we can’t love until we have time. Until we
love, we will never have the time.

THE INMATES

When you first realize that you are surrounded

by crazy people, it may seem frightening. In a civili­
zation of outpatients, insanity can be viewed as the
only defense. The planet Earth is your asylum; take
the opportunity to explore and enjoy your own
^craziness.
 JOANNE’S ENLIGHTENMENT

When her daughter was born, Joanne pledged to herself

that she would not lie to her child. The discipline involved
in answering the queries o f an alert, intelligent youth was
more than Joanne had anticipated. Nor had she realized that
to fulfill her pledge she would have to stop lying to herself.
By adhering to the truth, she went through many intellectual,
physical and emotional changes that led her along the path
of enlightenment.

THE NAMES OF HO CHI ZEN

Addressing a group of students, Ho Chi Zen said, “Here­

tic! Charlatan! Rascal! Trickster! I have been called all of
those names and they’re true. All true. I am here tonight to
trick you. I’m going to trick you into becoming your own
best friend.”

( 66 )
 SEX AND NIRVANA

The orgasm can be considered a model o f enlightenment

because, for its duration, the experiencer and the experience
are one. The possibility of attaining nirvana through sex may
be denied by some teachers who maintain that reality simply
is and therefore is not something to be attained. In the ec­
stasy of complete sexual union, roles, images and abstractions
are dissolved in the oneness of the experience.
 SEX AND MORALITY

An immoralist once fogged the issue o f his own beha­

vior by focusing attention on the sex life o f others. This dis­
traction worked so well that some people are just now realiz­
ing that morality is how you treat other beings, not your
sexual behavior.
 BEN ON HUMAN SEXUALITY

A student once asked Ben how to resist the animal in

herself. Ben said, “That which is resisted persists. What are
you resisting?”
“Well, you know, the animal passions.”
“You mean sex?”
“Yes.”
“That’s so ironic. Most animals, except dolphins and
humans, have a limited season of heat, of open sexuality.
The constant readiness for sexual fulfillment is an unusual
characteristic found only in species with large brains and high
intelligence. Whatever it is, it is not animal passion. Your
intelligence is so you can handle, enjoy and appreciate your
uniqueness, not deny it.”
 JUD’S VISION

Jud founded a religious group based on sexual freedom;

many members also enjoyed psychedelics. The combination
of sex and drugs became a religious practice. Although de­
tractors referred to this rite as total blasphemy, one believer
said, “There may be a better way o f worshipping than turning
on and balling, but this will do until I find one.”
When asked why he formed his group, Jud replied, “An
angel came to me in a vision and told me that I was to be the
next great religious prophet in this world. I asked the angel,
‘Why me?’ And the angel said, ‘Because you are so goddamned
gullible.’ ”

( 71 )
 SEX AFTER LIBERATION

In a discussion about liberated sexual attitudes, Jerry

explained that, to her, liberation meant using sexual activity
to satisfy sexual desire. Through this framework she avoided
being exploited or exploiting anyone else. One woman asked,
“What do you do in a sexually free environment when some­
one accuses you of not being sexually liberated because you
won’t sleep with them.”
“I tell him that I’m so sexually liberated that I make it
with everyone who turns me on, and when I’m horny and
there’s no one around with the style I like, I feel perfectly
free to masturbate without guilt.”

( 72 )
 CHASTITY AND OTHER PERVERSIONS

rry Pointing out that accepting oneself is a primary step in

ivity liberation, Ho Chi Zen advocated sexual freedom—doing what
oided you want to do with those who are interested in doing it with
asked, you. One student asked why some gurus and prophets
iome- stressed celibacy as a prelude to enlightenment. Ho explained
you that such may have been necessary in the pre-birth-control
era—just to keep the time for oneself that having children
ke it would require. That was why liberation was sought only after
id the child-rearing period was finished. “As for m e,” Ho said,
tly “I agree with Anatole France who said that o f all the perver­
sions, chastity is the strangest.”

( 73 )
 WHAT IF EVERYBODY DID IT?

An unshackling o f the spirit caused Joanne to exercise

her sexual freedom and explore her sexual identity. When an
acquaintance said, “You can’t do that. What if everybody
did it?” Joanne replied, “It’s all right with me if everyone
does it.”

( 74 )
 A CURE FOR PARANOIA

Rachel met Ed at a self-help lecture. Liking the way

they responded to each other, they went out for coffee, then
to Rachel’s apartment where they shared a smoke o f Aca­
pulco Gold. Before much time had passed they were deep
into each other’s heads.
In response to Rachel’s question about where he was
coming from, Ed described the former life he had abandoned.
During the description, he saw for the first time how full his
life had been o f form and how empty o f substance. Seeing
his past as a horror show brought Ed his first attack of
paranoia.
Realizing what was happening to Ed, Rachel put her
arms around him and pulled him close to her, saying, “That
was then and this is now. That’s where you were coming
from, not where you are.”
The warmth and closeness o f Rachel brought Ed out o f
his revery and into the present. Sensing her emotional open­
ness, Ed asked, “Are we going to make love?”
Rachel replied, “Of course. I’m no tease.”
Ed’s paranoia never returned.

( 75 )
 JENNY’S LIBERATION IN ACTION

Among Jenny’s lovers was a married man who was una­

ware of how chauvinistic he was. In order to avoid ridiculous
complications, Jenny explained that she took responsibility
for her own sex life and made love with whom she pleased
when she pleased. Unable to grasp the implications of her
freedom, her lover asked, “But what if I wanted a monoga­
mous relationship?” Jenny replied, “I’d advise you to seek
one with your w ife—isn’t that what she’s looking for?
 ALBERTO’S INSIGHT

Because Alberto had not learned to believe in himself,

he took pride only in those things he was born w ith-religion,
ethnic heritage, skin color, etc. Thinking that he would find
fulfillment by imitating the male role his culture pushed, Al­
berto became a stereotype instead of a person.
When the pressures of this imitation of life became too
much to bear, he began searching for a better way to live.
He studied Gurdjieff for a while, narrowly missed taking up
Scientology and finally found himself in Zen.
One of his women acquaintances noticed the change in
him and asked him how it came about. He explained that he
had learned that machismo was Latin for insecurity in action.

( 77 )
 BEN’S ROMANTICISM

Having been reared in a household full o f logic and popu­

lar music, Ben was a romantic rationalist. His embrace o f Zen
didn’t change his views, but widened them. When asked by
Jane what his framework was for dealing with sex, he said,
“I look at each sexual relationship as the possible beginning
of a deep and beautiful friendship. If it turns out to be less ^
than that, I accept the limitation although I don’t prefer it.
Jane liked that approach, but said that so many of her
friends seemed obsessed with monogamy. Ben replied,^ Oh,
I think monogamy is great as long as it’s spontaneous.
 £S■ tt
HO CHI ZEN AND THE DRAGON LADY

Ho Chi Zen despaired of ever finding a partner whose

enthusiasm for the Ten Thousand Imperial Acts of Sex would
match his own. As soon as he gave up his search, a new
partner appeared in his life; they discovered that they were
astonishingly compatible.
After their first five days and nights of unstinting erotic
activity, he said to her, “You are just what I always wanted,
a Dragon Lady to fight by my side!”
She said, “But we have not conquered anything yet.
, “ Right on.” Ho cried. “Perhaps we never will!”
IV. The Reality
of Illusion
 REALITY

In a discussion Bert said that reality can be described in

many ways, but the description that an individual accepts is
the one that conforms to that individual’s preconceptions.
Omar expanded on this by defining objective reality as the
fantasy that has received the majority vote and subjective
reality as a personal fantasy. Mai concluded the discussion by
saying, “Reality is the original Rorschach.”
 GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

There’s good news tonight. And bad news. First, the

bad news: there is no good news. Now, the good news: you
don’t have to listen to the bad news.

( 83 )
 ILLUSION AND REALITY

Expounding on his knowledge of gurus and their sys­

tems, Ralph said, “Any system that prepares you for enlight­
enment by a description or a nondescription gives you the
tools to build the illusion o f enlightenment. If this is done
with skill, it is perhaps impossible to tell the difference be­
tween the illusion and the reality.”
Lucas replied, “Perhaps there is no difference.
 ZEN SENSE

Everything is true in some sense, false in some sense

and meaningless in another sense. A working knowledge of
this concept is a useful tool for staying relaxed. For example,
if someone says something about you that is untrue, you
should not get upset regardless of whether you consider the
statement positive or negative. It is true in the sense that it
is what one person believes to be true about you; it is that in­
dividual’s truth. It is false in the sense that it does not repre­
sent your truth. It is meaningless in the sense that it does not
change who and what you are; your identity is independent
of others’ opinions.

( 85 )
 IDENTITY RISK

Among the masks and roles o f your everyday reality

there is a genuine human being living a life. Speak out. Ask
for what you w ant-there are only two risks attached. The
first is that asking will let both you and others know who
and where you are. That is necessary for learning your real
identity. The second risk in asking for what you want is that
you might get it.

( 86 )
 THE CLOCK

ty When Omar inherited a clock from his grandfather, he

3 Ask placed it in a prominent position on his bookcase, even
ifh e though the clock did not keep accurate time. He enjoyed it
t10 and was not disturbed when it refused to continue running.
oreal The clock became a focal point for conversation. “Hey,
ls that that clock isn’t right, is it?” “Omar, your clock has run
down.” “Does this clock work?”
One day Omar told Giovanni that he was considering
having the clock repaired, not because he wanted it to keep
time, but because he was tired o f discussing its inaccuracy.
Giovanni went over to the clock, removed both of its hands,
and wrote NOW across the clockface.
 TIME ORIENTATION

The past is just a memory and the future is a

guess. The point where they meet is the present, and
it is the only place you exist. The address o f where
you live is eternally now.

OPEN SECRETS

All secrets are open secrets. Nothing is hidden.

Nothing is revealed. People can only be told what
they already know. Although they know, they may
not be conscious of their knowledge.

IMAGINATION

Imagination, like logic, is a valuable but limited

tool. No matter how much imagination you have,
life is always much simpler than you could ever
imagine.

( 88 )
 CAUSE AND EFFECT

5 £ § fi| It is easy to pick any event that precedes another

in time and define the first as the cause and the second
g fJ C i as the effect. Such definitions may be difficult to dis-
S p E jl prove but that does not insure their validity. Some-
times such a combination will be presented as com-
mon sense when it is merely stupidity hardened into
i i E S t a bad habit. ^

=r BELIEF AND CREATION

Today I heard about a new thing called whata-

mores. I now believe in whatamores. If you can be-
live in whatamores and if we can form a mutually
acceptable definition, we will discover large amounts
of circumstantial evidence proving the existence of
whatamores. When we believe enough, there will be
whatamores. Do we really want any?

SCIENCE AND MAGIC

Science and magic are frequently different maps J j

B fig S for very similar territory. Following the path o f least qg
resistance, science ignores magic’s hard-to-travel path, gjj
jjS gyig Magic uses m yth and science uses ambiguous termin- gg
ology: Semantically, both say the same thing. Each p
g S f i g principle is expressed as “An unknown something is jg
f j p K i doing we don’t know what.” Each law is a variation Jig
g g g S i L o f , “It did it again.” .J K

( 89 )
 KEN’S TRUTH

Endowed with a psychic gift, Ken was able to determine

what kind of an emotional space a person was in by any phy­
sical contact. The experience happened every time he touched
someone, regardless o f whether he wanted the experience or
not. Looking for a way to dampen the unpleasant aspects of
his talent, Ken became a heavy drinker. When alcohol failed,
he went to tranquilizers and then to heroin, to avoid living
his life.
After a number of years as a smack freak, he went into
a rehabilitation program to cure himself. Successful at last,
he left Synanon and began making his own way in the world.
As he expressed it: “What I had to learn was to associate only
with those people who I felt comfortable touching.”

( 90 )
 A MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE

Just as Mary was beginning to lose consciousness on an

operating table, she received an illuminating glimpse into the
essential nature of things. With a prodigious effort, she men­
tally summed up her fantastic insight in a dozen or so words,
which she shouted to the white-masked faces around her be­
fore going under.
When Mary came out of anesthesia she could remember
neither the words nor the vital truth they had expressed.
She asked her doctor, “Did I say something just before I
passed out?”
“ As a matter o f fact you did,” the doctor told her.
“What was it?”
“Well, you just sort o f mumbled. Nothing coherent.
None of us could make any sense out of it.”
 WISDOM WITHIN

You contain myriad worlds and vast knowledge. Each

one o f your cells has the ability to recreate itself and the
ability to change. Although many of the processes that take
place within you do not seem to be under your conscious
control, that does not negate the fact that they are part of
you. Your ordinary consciousness is a small part o f your be­
ing, merely a current majority opinion resulting from your
experience. If you invest your identity in your opinions, you
are limiting your capacity and your reality.

( 92 )
 SOLVING THE MYSTERY

ta cn If life seems to be a mystery, the solution is in your

mind. It may not always be easy to find the solution but it
* ta^e is there, perhaps hidden or disguised in symbols or myths.
3US The truth o f the Atlas myth is that each o f us is holding up
* the world with our shoulders. For it is in your head that the
lUr ^e" world you perceive is created. Knowing that may be the first
^our step in recognizing that the world is not a burden, but a part
ns’ ^ου of you.

( 93 )
 τ -

FREEDOM AND THE LAW

All of the laws that identify victimless crimes are the

result o f som eone’s anxiety. These laws don’t limit your free­
dom, but necessitate caution when you exercise it. The great
challenge in contemporary culture is being free w ithout be­
coming the victim of other’s anxiety.
 LUNACY

the To be called a lunatic is a compliment to anyone who

ur free- recognizes a better position than the one taken by allegedly
e great rational human beings. Therefore, if there cannot be lunacy
it be- for all, there should be at least equality for lunatics. To those
who are accused o f being on the periphery o f the lunatic
fringe, all things are possible. It is on the outer periphery of
the lunatic fringe, beyond lunacy, where the cosmic mystery
is unfolding.

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 INFLATION

It may seem, in times o f inflation, that all prices

are going up, but the price of living remains the same—
death. It may seem like a high price to those who
don’t understand it, but it only has to be paid once,
and never in advance.

ART AND THE ARTIST

Every human being is an artist; the work of

art in question is the individual’s life. Most artists
have a problem knowing when they have completed
a work, but if you realize that your life is your art
form, you don’t have that problem. Death tells you
when you are through. It’s nature’s way o f saying,
“That’s it. You’ve completed your work. Take it
easy now .”

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V. Meditations
and Exercises
 BREATHING MEDITATION

The major requirement for breathing meditation is a

straight, erect spine. It doesn’t matter whether you sit in a
chair, on the floor or on a cushion. Once you are seated,
close your eyes. Wiggle your body until it seems centered.
Then move in smaller and smaller circles until you feel cen­
tered with your spine straight in a line that goes to the center
o f the earth. Now move your chin back—not up or down—
until your ears are in line with your shoulders.
With your body in position and your eyes still closed,
focus your attention on your breathing. Notice the air flow­
ing through the nose, down the throat and into the lungs.
Feel the chest expand and the muscles below the rib cage
rise. Notice the instant of stillness as the inhale reaches equi­
librium before becoming exhale. Feel the air flowing out of
the lungs, through the throat and out the nose. Feel the chest
contract and the muscles below the rib cage fall. Notice the
instant o f stillness as the exhale reaches equilibrium before
becoming inhale. That total poise at the top and the bottom
o f the breathing cycle is you.
In order to keep your mind on breathing, let all thoughts
that come to your mind float away like the outgoing breath.
Count each breath silently as you inhale and then exhale
without counting. Visualize the number if that aids in keep­
ing your attention on the breath. Each time you reach the
count o f ten, start the counting over. If your attention has
wandered, bring it back to your breathing. If you have lost
count, start counting over.

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 This meditation can teach you to focus attention and to
develop calmness. It can be done anytime during the day for
a period o f twenty to thirty minutes. Once a day is the usual
way. After several weeks of breathing meditation, the results
should be sufficient to tell you whether or not you should
continue breathing meditation.

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 MOVING MEDITATION

Moving meditation requires a private, quiet place with

room to walk around. The meditator prepares by sitting
quietly until surface calmness appears. Once this has been
achieved, the meditation begins by slowly walking to the
center o f the room or area.
Centered, stand still for a moment. Then allow the
muscles to move as they release their tension. Instead of
sending commands to the body requiring movement, let
feedback from the body be the moving m essage-like the ad­
justment moves that are made with little or no conscious at­
tention when preparing for sleep or finding a comfortable
position on furniture.
Neither block nor encourage thought during the moving
meditation. Because ,the emphasis is on letting any tension
in the body work its way out, the exercise of the brain is not
important during the movements. Relax into whatever mo­
tion seems to be what the body wants. Any movement made
consciously, such as walking or turning, is appropriate pro­
vided it doesn’t interfere with removing the tension indicated
by feedback.
Relaxing the conscious control o f muscles, let the body
assume any position that is comfortable. Permit the vocal
cords to relax and let any tension-reducing sounds emerge.
Occasionally, let the head loll on the shoulders to loosen neck
muscles.
During the meditation, any movement that feels right
may be repeated while waiting for muscular feedback to gen­
erate. Moving from standing and walking to sitting or lying
should be accomplished on a feeling basis. The emphasis re­
mains on spontaneous movement.

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 By practicing moving meditation twice a week for a
period of twenty to thirty minutes, most individuals lessen
their muscular tensions and become more at home in their
bodies. It can also be used as an aid in overcoming mental
and physical discomforts produced by stressful situations.
The benefits o f moving meditation will be reflected in
a greater awareness o f the body and eventually a greater ac­
ceptance of the physical structure that houses the spirit.
Those who continue the practice will notice that the subjec­
tive value o f this meditation changes from time to time. The
practice should be continued as long as the meditator finds
dividends returning from the investment o f time and energy.

WALKING MEDITATION

Whenever you are walking, concentrate on the body

movements that you are making. Experience the physical
flow as balance changes. Confine your attention to the feel­
ing o f walking and to the sensory input necessary to continue
walking.
As you become one with your walking, the relationship
between your steps and your breathing will become a familiar
rhythm. The lengthening and shortening o f muscles can be
experienced as movements in the cosmic dance while your
awareness moves through everything like a recurring theme.
See each walk as a process instead o f a space between
destinations. If your attention wanders, bring it back to the
physical actions—the movements, the change in balance, the
point at which the inhale becomes the exhale.
Becoming one with the experience of walking makes
every step more satisfying. If you walk a thousand miles, each
step should be as the first.
 TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

The techniques of transcendental meditation are decep­

tively simple. Twice a day at times when the stomach is not
busy digesting food, the meditator recites mentally over and
over a syllable or series of syllables known as a mantra for
fifteen to twenty minutes. This should be done in a quiet
place where interruptions will be minimal. The meditator
should be nude or wearing only loose clothing and should
assume any comfortable position in which the spine is straight.
If you are willing to invest approximately ten hours of
your time over a two-week period, you can begin to discover
what transcendental meditation can do for you.
Selecting a mantra is the beginning. Since the mantra
will be recited mentally by you, it should feel comfortable
to your mind. It should be something that evokes no parti­
cular chain of thinking or any special thoughts, because the
mantra is used to quiet thought, to calm the mind. Any chant
or word that your experience has led you to will do if it tends
to produce serenity. If you wish, you may select a mantra
from the following:
THE SPIRIT FLOWS FROM THE SOURCE
HA LA POU LA PLANE
TEA LEAVES
HOLLOW BAMBOO
OM MANI PADME HUM
ALPHA
THE JEWEL IS IN THE LOTUS
MANTRA
EEMO LEETOE LYTOE ZONYA
WHITE CLOUDS, BLUE SKY
Approximately two weeks is required to experience
the benefits o f meditation. Some o f the more usual effects
are increased energy, slight reduction in amount o f sleep
required, greater acceptance of the self and others, improve­
ment in dealing with complicated situations and an expanded
awareness. The subjective reaction to a particular meditation
period is not always a reliable indicator o f the value the medi­
tator received from it. If, after a two-week trial period, you
feel that you are not benefiting from the practice, discontinue
it. It may not be the method or the time for you to practice.
Early morning on awakening and evening before the last
meal or after it is digested are the two best times to use your

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 mantra. With the stomach empty and the mind not under the
influence o f recreational drugs, mentally repeat your mantra
cep- over and over in whatever rhythm seems right to you. Any-
not time that you become aware that you are not saying your
and mantra, return to it.
)r There is no need to try to stop thought. Your thoughts
t are just the way your brain feels when it exercises itself in a
,r certain way. Those thoughts have no more reality than you
d wish to give them. D on’t think about your thoughts—just
raight. note them and let them pass on through. For instance, if
j of you think “What shall I eat for breakfast?” during your morn-
over ing m editation, you can follow that thought with “I am not
eating breakfast now. Now is the time for me to recite my
ra mantra.” Then you mentally recite your mantra again and
,le again until the meditation period ends.
rti- Keep a clock or watch where you can see it. During
the meditation your eyes will be closed, but you may open them
chant to help gauge the time. After a while, clocks will not be es-
tends sential to judging how long you should meditate. When the
•a time is up, arise slowly as if returning from a deep sleep.
Be assured that what happens during meditation is nor­
mal for you. When you have quieted the chattering o f the
mind with your mantra, you have gone beyond the conscious
mind and may experience the equivalent o f a dream. Accept
the experience for what it is and for what effect it has on you.
If you feel sleepy after your meditation, sleep unless you
have something more important to do. Frequently you may
find yourself in a place similar to that threshold between wak­
ing and sleeping; it is a comfortable spot if recognized as such.
You can meditate alone or in a group. Having others to
reinforce the positive experiences can be an aid in forming
the meditation habit. Don’t slip into the trap o f using your
fects meditation period to control the behavior o f others by mak-
.p ing them feel guilty if they disturb you. You are in charge of
}Ve. yourself and can return to your mantra when the disturbance
n(led is over. If your residence has few periods of quiet, meditate
ition in the morning by awakening earlier and meditate at night
medi- before you sleep.
^ou The values of transcendental meditation have been do-
itinue cumented by scientists, philosophers and religious leaders, but
'tiCe . only you can demonstrate them for yourself. The techniques
e last are simple and readily available. Invest ten hours in yourself
during the next two weeks and see what dividends you receive.

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 DAILY EXERCISE

Live this day fully. Keep your attention on what you

are doing and what it means to you. Live entirely in the day
you are experiencing and become one with the experience.
If you find yourself lost in either the future or the past, re­
turn to this day. Live this day only.

You control the depth and width o f your experience.

The apparent limits o f where you go, whom you associate
with and what you do are largely o f your own choosing as
influenced by your heredity, environment and experience.
This exercise will help you explore your own culture, differ­
ent subcultures within it and other cultures.
Pick a cultural territory for exploration. Use your own
resources for accumulating the information you need for
your adventure. Then, dressed appropriately for the new en­
vironment, go into it and blend into the surroundings as much
as possible without compromising your inner nature. Learn
as much as you can from the experience.
 CANDLE EXERCISE

You will need a person to help you in this exercise. Light

a candle and place it a few feet in front of you. Look at the
candle flame and place your attention there. Don’t be dis­
tracted by random thoughts or by anything else that is hap­
pening in nearby spaces. Focus all your attention on the flame.
Every minute or two, at random, the other person will
break silence to ask, “Where are you?” Don’t give a verbal
response. Just notice where your conscious attention is. If it
has wandered away from the candle flame, bring it back.
Repetition of this exercise will help you learn to focus the
attention o f your mind.
 DECISIVE EXERCISE

If your decision-making processes have gotten so com­

plicated that they are displacing the spontaneity in your life,
this exercise can be used whenever needed to combat the
long periods of worrying over choices. Use the CAN technique
for difficult decisions. The C represents chronological choice;
A is for alphabetical and N for numerical. When deciding be­
comes troublesome, tie a CAN to the choices. Since C comes
first, use the standard of chronology, the measurement of
time, to decide. This simply means doing whatever comes
first in time. This means that you would take the choice that
has the earliest starting time. If the choices all involve the
same time, apply the alphabetical standard and take the
choice that would be first if all possibilities were listed in al­
phabetical order. If the alphabetical system does not apply,
rank the choices by numerical order—lowest number first—
and take the first choice. If the choices don’t have numeri­
cal values, use any number associated with them or assign a
number according to any value system that you have. You
can be a decisive person. You CAN do it.

ENERGIZING EXERCISE

Extend your arms forward, straight from the shoulders

with palms down. Curve the fingers upward as far as they will
go. Imagine that a tennis ball is bouncing against the palm of
each hand with a regular, fast rhythm. While breathing deeply
and regularly, clutch and release the tennis balls hitting your
palms. Each clutch should press the fingers tightly against the
palms; each release should return the fingers to the upward
curved position. Make the rhythm as fast as possible and men­
tally count each time the fingers touch the palm. A count of
fifty is the minimum necessary to get the feeling o f energy
that will help keep you alert and pay attention to whatever
task is at hand.

HANGING LOOSE EXERCISE

Imagine that you are suspended by a single thread at­

tached to your head as if it were an extension o f your spine.
Stand and shift your weight without lifting your fo o t until
you have a good feeling o f your line of gravity. Since the
imaginary thread is attached to the head and not the face,
you can let all the facial muscles respond to gravity—keep
them that way unless you are using your mouth for talking,
eating, drinking, etc. Your shoulders should hang loose ex­
cept when you are carrying something. All the time that your
hands and arms are not in use they should be limp enough to
swing and dangle. Keep just enough rigidity in your legs and
feet to give you support. Continued use o f this exercise will
help you to hang loose in your daily life.

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 RELAXATION EXERCISE

Getting uptight is always accompanied by muscle ten­

sion, a sensation that prevents rest and sleep. The way out
of that tense feeling is to get into it, understand it and let go
of it. Curl your fingers into a tight fist and sense what your
muscles are doing. As soon as you identify the sensation, let
your fingers uncurl and your hand go limp. The feeling of
relaxation that comes as you let go is under your control.
Practice with the large muscles in the limbs and torso
before following the same procedure with the smaller muscles
around the face and throat. The longer you maintain a re­
laxed state in the muscles you have let go, the more the re­
maining muscles will tend to relax.
Develop your own sequence for relaxing your muscles.
Use your developed technique to relax yourself whenever you
get uptight. This symptomatic treatment w on’t prevent your
getting upset, but it will help you spend less time being up­
tight about having gotten upset.
 GIVING EXERCISE

With someone you enjoy touching, perform a body mas­

sage. Start with a thorough scalp massage. Make every move­
ment firm but gentle, complete and without surprise. Use
long, connecting strokes whenever possible. If oil or lotion
is used, warm it in the hands to body temperature before
applying. The hands should always return to the last spot
they left to start the new stroke. In that way the person be­
ing massaged will not be startled by an unsuspected touch.
Keep conversation down to the comfortable minimum, which
may well be no words at all. All motions should emphasize
the continuity of the skin. Help the other person experience
their skin as the organ that connects them to the rest o f the
world instead o f a shield that separates them from it.
 VISUALIZATION MEDITATION

This meditation is to be used to induce a feeling o f calm­

ness or to prepare you for restful sleep.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible before closing
your eyes. Then imagine a scene that is pleasing to your mind’s
eye, a scene in which no people are present. The scene can be
your recreation o f a painting, your remembrance o f an actual
setting or something from your imagination.
Once you have picked your scene, go over it in your mind
as if you were constructing it or painting it as a work o f art.
Imagine yourself able to work at any speed you desire with
unlimited talent, time and materials. Use your own creation
as a place to focus your attention, a place where you can al­
ways spend a few minutes relaxing and creating inner peace.

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 LIVING EXERCISE

Imagine that your life is going to be taken over and lived

by a person who will be your best friend. In taking over, the
friend will also take over your characteristics and beliefs in
order to really live your life. As soon as you have imagined
that, start putting your life in order for your friend. Get the
garbage out, both physical and mental. Really shape up your
life in the way that only you can. After all, you wouldn’t
want to put your best friend on a bum trip, would you?

LOVING EXERCISE

For one day treat everyone you encounter as if he or

she were an enlightened being, doing whatever is necessary to
raise your consciousness to a higher level. Suspect everyone
of the very best of intentions. Anytime that you get uptight,
use the energy that would be used in that uptightness to cre­
ate. Create a new you who doesn’t get uptight or a new situ­
ation wherein no one gets uptight. If you love everyone as
much as you can no matter where they are or what they ap­
pear to be doing, you will be able to love that part o f you
that is so much like them.

( Π1 )
 HONESTY EXERCISE

Practice being honest with yourself, honest about what

you feel, think and sense. Do not trap yourself into the habit
of convincing yourself that you are as others see you or want
to see you. Throughout your life you have been exposed to
conditioning that has attempted to make you deny your feel­
ings, thoughts and sensations. Relax and feel what you feel
because it is real. Remember that nothing is unthinkable.
Recognize your senses as a way of relating to your experience
instead of selecting what is accepted or denied. When the
practice of honesty becomes familiar, extend it to other
people without using it as a blunt instrument. Continue this
exercise until you find yourself being honest within the entire
scope of your existence.

INVITATIONAL EXERCISE

For a two-week period, pay a great deal o f attention to

all the invitations that are extended to you. Accept every
one that does not obligate you to a course o f action you op­
pose or obligate you to commitments that you do not want.
Write down all your invitations and whether or not you
accepted.
This period should help you recognize many aspects of
yourself. You will learn from the invitations you accept and
from the invitations you decline. At the conclusion of your
fortnight o f acceptance, review your written list o f invitations
and decisions and examine the experiences you had. Then
decide whether or not to continue the exercise.

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 LAUGHING EXERCISE

With a group of people seated in a circle, have one per­

son start by saying ha. The person on the left should then
say ha. When the ha has been said all around the circle, the
originator should then say ha ha and the procedure be re­
peated. Continue the repetition with an additional ha each
time the circle is completed until the process produces genu­
ine laughter. The experience can be taped so it can be shared
with others or played at random intervals.
 FREEDOM EXERCISE

Each day you decide if you are going to be the same

person that you were yestereay. Only you know whether
the habit patterns, lifestyle and activities o f that person you
were yesterday are right for today. You can continue them,
or you can make changes. The choice is yours—exercise it
today.

QUESTIONING EXERCISE

The first step toward getting useful answers is framing

useful questions. If you have experienced getting answers
that were difficult to deal with, it may be that you aren’t ask­
ing the right questions. Ask yourself questions like “Am I
getting what I want from this situation?” “Should I continue
doing this if it is merely a habit?” “What results am I getting
from the expenditure of my energy?” “Are my actions in my
own best interest?”
Pay attention to yourself and pay attention to what you
learn from your questions. As you repeat this exercise, your
questions and answers will become more meaningful. Remem­
ber that just as nothing is unthinkable, nothing is unques­
tionable.

( Π4 )
 SEXUAL EXERCISE

Do whatever you normally do to prepare the place where

you live for an important visitor. Make the place as attractive
as possible. Light candles, burn incense, provide the best
smokes, pour the best wine and put on interesting music. Use
your imagination to create a pleasing environment. The im­
portant visitor is you.
With two or more mirrors make an inventory o f your
nude body. D on’t compare your body to any other person or
structure, but view yourself as an abstract sculpture. Find and
admire the attractive aspects of your body. You may discover
beauty in the curve o f a fingernail, the smoothness o f a muscle
or the contour of a rib. Examine all your body, every freckle,
mole and hair. Find the attractiveness in your body that you
never sought before.
Physically explore your body, using a lubricant such as
oil or Vaseline—some substance that won’t break down under
friction. Discover what spots respond to a light bit o f scratch­
ing or pinching. Vary the intensity, the motion, the direction
and everything else. Learn what kind o f reactions stimulation
can provide. Every sensitive spot can be a turn-on under the
proper stimulus. Continue the exploration until you have as
much o f this pleasure as you want. Don’t ignore any part of
your body. It’s all there for your pleasure.
The final part of this exercise is masturbation. N ot the
hurried activity that quickly leads to a rushed orgasm, but a
slow stimulation with occasional pauses to establish plateaus
of excitem ent that stop just short o f orgasm. Concentrate on
the pleasure of approaching the climax; stimulate yourself
until the feeling o f orgasm tells you that you are almost at the
point of no return, and stop. Resume when the feeling has
subsided. Repeat the stimulation until you feel that you have
reached a greater level o f excitem ent than you have ever
achieved previously. Now you know what turns you on. Now
you can show or tell someone else how to turn you on. Now
that you are turned on to yourself, you can guide yourself to
the climax of this sexual exercise.

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 GARDEN EXERCISE

Perhaps you have seen a Zen garden or pictures o f Zen

gardens with the artfully arranged rocks emerging from
smoothly raked patterns in the sand. If you have not exper­
ienced the serenity that such a sight can create in you, do so
as the first part of this exercise. The second part of the exer­
cise is to create in your mind a Zen garden of your own de­
sign. Create it slowly, selecting the shades o f sand, examining
the contours of each rock, making the placement o f each item
a ceremony o f pleasure and satisfaction. Mentally rake the
sand to leave the flowing patterns that delight the eye and
direct the attention to the harmony of the creation. Develop
the garden so that it delights the eye from any angle.
Once you have created your mental Zen garden, you
may wish to create one in reality, using whatever materials
are easily obtained. You might wish to create one in minia­
ture using salt as sand and a small box as the container. Let
your imagination be your guide—you might find a Zen garden
in the yard more desirable than a traditional lawn.
Regardless o f whether or not you create a Zen garden in
the material plane, the Zen garden of your mind will always
be available to you as a quiet place where you find the calm­
ness that refreshes the spirit.

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 GETTING EXERCISE

If you feel that you are not getting what you want out
o f life, this exercise should help you get in touch with the
causes of that feeling and lead you to a more positive state of
mind. List on paper, in any order as they occur to you, all
the things that you want out o f life regardless o f whether they
are concrete or abstract, material or spiritual, emotional or
intellectual.
When the list is as complete as you feel like making it,
start refining it by getting rid o f those items that are not
within your personal sphere of influence. As an example,
world peace might be on your list as something you want for
the world. If it is, draw a line through it because it requires
the entire world to get on your trip. Replace it with some­
thing that is personally meaningful—such as a desire to be at
peace with the world or a desire to do all within your power
to add to the amount of peace in the world. Delete all de­
sires that require changing the past and substitute goals that
require changing your attitude to what is past or changing
your attitude to present conditions. If neither o f those
changes seems appropriate, list your desire to work toward
changing the existing conditions. Eliminate all those ends
that require specific action by other people because you can
dissipate the energy you need to achieve your goals by ex­
pending it attempting to influence others. Next, examine
your material wants, keeping in mind that ownership without
use is material abuse. Free yourself from wanting anything
that would complicate your life without giving you the return
of usefulness.
After you have used your abilities to prune the list of all
that is/inappropriate, put the remaining items down in order
of importance. These are the things you want. Now you
know where to focus your attention and where to expend
your energy.
At whatever intervals seem appropriate, review and re­
vise your list. Add any item that you are sure belongs there
and cross o ff those achieved or no longer desired. Maintain
the list for as long as it is useful in helping you get what you
want.

( Π7 )
 PAIN-EASING MEDITATION

Buddha recognized as one o f his noble truths that suffer­

ing exists. Some suffering is the result o f mental attitudes
and can be alleviated by working on those concepts, expecta­
tions and desires-all of which can be changed. Other pain is
a purely physical sensation and that is the pain that can be
eased by this meditation.
Some of your response to physical sensation is condi­
tioned, learned behavior based on past experience, present
conditions and mental constructs. For example, a squeeze of
your hand by someone who cares for you will usually be in­
terpreted as a pleasurable sensation while the same amount
of pressure as an expression o f anger may register as pain. An
awareness o f this classification procedure will help you deal
more directly with the physical sensations you experience
initially as pain.
When you have a feeling that you have classified as pain
and you have tried to ignore it unsuccessfully, turn your at­
tention to it. All meditation is the controlling o f attention.
Focus on the pain completely and examine the sensation.
Breathe deeply as you concentrate in slow, measured breaths
and experience the stimulus. Experience the pain as some­
thing you have chosen to identify thoroughly. If it is not so
great as to cause you to lose consciousness, this meditation
will help you accept the sensation as a reality until you can
change the reality that produces it.

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 PLEASURE EXERCISE

Every day do at least one thing that is intended solely

for your personal pleasure. To get the most possible pleasure
from the activity, make certain that it doesn’t decrease the
pleasure o f others. Take responsibility for adding to the
amount o f pleasure in the world by pleasing yourself. Keep
working at this exercise until you can fill an entire day with
pleasure.

SECRET EXERCISE

Every day make an effort toward making someone else’s

day proceed sm oothly. Do it in such a manner that your par­
ticipation is unknown. Enjoy the experience of being an anony­
mous benefactor. If you are discovered, you can regain your
anonymous standing by doing the exercise twice more that
day.

SILENT EXERCISE

If you use any recreational or social drug, experience it

the next time alone. Arrange the setting so that you will not
be disturbed. Remain silent during the time that *’ ; drug is
in your system. Become one with the experience and learn as
much as possible from it.

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 LIBIDO EXERCISE

This exercise is based on the old Tantric-Taoist sexual

practices of prolonging sexual intercourse while avoiding male
orgasm. Such a technique, sometimes called karezza, is often
made ridiculously complicated with arbitrary requirements
and technical divisions o f continuing actions. Sexual inter­
course prolonged can be a valid meditative technique, but
there appears to be no viable reason, other than as an ineffec­
tive method of birth control, for not completing the act with
eventual ejaculation.
The broad principles o f getting the most out o f the sex­
ual encounter are extensive foreplay to excite both partners,
a willingness to experiment, and pauses as required to delay
the male orgasm. Additional helpful instructions are: Take
your time. Keep your mouth closed unless you are sucking or
tonguing. Make noises such as groans and shouts only when
you can’t prevent them from occurring. Avoid working your­
self into a sweat. Be open to a wide variety of positions. Al­
ways be prepared to discard any rule or principle for the sake
of spontaneity.
Exercising the libido is more a matter o f approach and
attitude than specific techniques. It is a contemplative form
of lovemaking and mutual exploration that lets the lovers ex­
perience the neural, glandular and psychological sensations
of the union.

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 PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Just as you are responsible for your mental program­

ming, you control your physical programming. Your body re­
sponds to the physical activities you regularly perform by de­
veloping the ability to perform those tasks with greater ease.
If you feel the need for more physical exercise in your life to
enable you to accomplish physical tasks more readily, then it
is your responsibility to incorporate that activity into your
life.
If calisthenics, gym workouts, regular running or stan­
dardized exercise programs work for you, even if you are a
superb physical specimen, you can still benefit from a person­
al physical exercise program. Start by determining what phy­
sical tasks are necessary or desirable in your life that are cur­
rently being performed by someone else or by technological
means. Begin a program of doing these activities yourself to
the extent that such actions are compatible with being the
person you are. Be ready for the changes and flow with them.
Add to your physical activities by accomplishing tasks
devised by you for your own enjoyment. If you live in a
rocky area, you can move the rocks into your own concep­
tion o f a rock garden. Perform those chores that will give
you the bodily satisfaction o f accomplishment. Doing your
own physical labor can be as satisfying as doing your own
thinking.

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 REPROGRAMMING EXERCISE

Since change is constant, you do not have to be the vic­

tim of past programming if you are willing to accept respon­
sibility for your own programming. The circumstances of
the past that created your existing behavior patterns do not
have to be the circumstances of the future. Your reactions
can change as easily as the circumstances if you are willing to
take an active role in your life.
Examine your own programming for habits that are coun­
terproductive, for preferences that are apt to becom e addic­
tions, for reactions that are inappropriate responses to the
situation. When you find the behavioral characteristic that
you want to change, you have taken the first step toward
meaningful change.
Once you have identified the bit o f programming that
you are going to revise, write down your intention to change.
Add as much information as it seems worthwhile to describe
completely the change you want to make. Then start collect­
ing data that pertains to the change. Talk to other people
who have made similar changes. Read whatever pertinent in­
formation is available on the subject.
The next step is imagining the new behavior response
that you will have in place o f the old. Make a mental film of
yourself in the old situation with the new behavior. Play the
film over and over in your mind until it becomes real to you.
Then start living it with the joy of accomplishment.

( 122 )
 INVENTIVE EXERCISE

All exercises are intended to keep your mind and body

working in harmony with the life you have chosen to lead.
You know more about that life than anyone else if you are
paying attention to yourself. You are the one m ost capable of
devising an exercise that will improve your existence. Invent
one now and start it. Share the benefits with others.

( 123 )
 RECOMMENDED READING

Browne, Harry. How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World. New York:

Avon Books, 1973.
Cooper, Paulette. 77ze Scandal o f Scientology. New York: Belmont/
Tower, 1971.
Golas, Thaddeus. The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment. Palo Alto,
Ca.: The Seed Center, 1971, 1972.
Keyes, Ken, Jr. and Burkan, Bruce (Tolly). How to Make Your Life
Work or Why A ren’t You Happy? Berkeley, Ca.: Living Love Center,
1974.
Keyes, Ken, Jr. Handbook to Higher Consciousness. Berkeley, Ca.:
Living Love Center, 1973.
Laing, R.D. The Politics o f Experience. New York: Ballan tine Books,
Inc., 1967.
Lilly, John. The Center o f the Cyclone. New York: Julian Press, Inc.,
1972.
Pearce, Joseph Chilton. The Crack in the Cosmic Egg. Julian Press, Inc.,
1971.
Reps, Paul. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. Garden City, New York: Anchor
Books/Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Schmidt, Steven. The Astrology 14 Horoscope: How to Cast and Inter­
pret It. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., 1974.
Schmidt, Steven. Astrology 14: Your New Sun Sign. New York: The
Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., 1970.
Sohl, Robert and Carr, Audrey , editors. The Gospel According to Zen.
New York: Mentor Books/The New American Library, Inc., 1970.
Thompson, William Irwin. Passages About Earth. New York: Harper &
Row, 1973,1974.
Vassi, Marco. The Stoned Apocalypse. New York: Pocket Books, 1972.
Waters, T.A. Psychologistics: An Operating Manual for the Mind. New
York: Random House, 1971.
Watts, Alan W. The Book. New York: Collier Books, 1966.
Watts, Alan W. Psychotherapy East & West. New York: Ballantine
Books, 1961.
Watts, Alan W. The Way o f Zen. New York: Vintage Books/Random
House, 1957.
White, John, editor. What is Meditation? Garden City, New York:
Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1974.
Weber, Nancy. The Life-Swap. New York: Dial Press, 1974.
Wilson, Robert A. Sex and Drugs. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1973.

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 HAS BEEN RIGHTEOUSLY ORDAINED AS A PRIEST OF
THE PARATHEO-ANAMETAMYSTIKHOOD OF ERIS ESOTERIC
AND THUSLY ENTRUSTED WITH ALL HOLY DUTIES
AND DIVINE PRIVELEGES OF THIS OFFICE

IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS ERIS

GLORY TO THE SACRED CHAO

UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF APOSTLE THE ELDER MALACLYPSE

BY THE OMNIBENEVOLENT POLYFATHER OF VIRGINITY IN GOLD
MALACLYPSE THE YOUNGER, KSC; HIGH PRIEST

HAIL ERIS! +*- καλλιχτι -*+- ALL HAIL DISCORDIA

11 DAY OF THE SEASON OF cfn YEAR OF OUR LADY 3136

OFFICE MF THE POLYFATHER/^POEE HEAlI TEMPLE, S.F.

J05HUA NORTON CABAL THE DISCORDIAN SOCIETY

The Golden Apple Corps

HOUSE OF APOSTLES OF ERIS
THE DISCORDIAN SOCIETY

( 126 )
About the Author..,
C a m d e n B e n a re s h a s b e e n in te r e s te d in Z e n f o r a n u m b e r of
y e a rs. P re f e r r in g th e in fo rm a l a p p ro a c h , h e s o u g h t o u t ex am p le s of
h o w Z e n w o rk e d f o r w e s te r n e r s in a w e s te r n e n v iro n m e n t w h ile
re a d in g e v e r y th in g h e c o u ld fin d a b o u t Z e n . In 1965 h e jo in e d th e
D isc o rd ia n S o ciety a n d o b s e rv e d W e s te rn Z e n in th e a c tio n s of
K e rry T h o rn le y , G re g o ry H ill a n d o th e r D isco rd ian s.* H e th e n
b eg an to h av e experien ces, o b ta in in sig h ts an d g a th e r th e in fo rm a tio n
th a t e v e n tu a lly b ecam e th is book.
In a d d itio n to th e u s u a l v a r ie ty o f o c cu p atio n s: W a ite r, clerk,
te c h n ic ia n , t h e a t e r m a n a g e r, te c h n ic a l w r ite r, a lte rn a tiv e p re ss
e d ito r; C a m d e n h a d th e ty p ical v a rie ty o f m a jo rs in colleges:
e n g in e e rin g , b u s in e s s a d m in is tra tio n , th e a te r a r ts , E nglish. H is
a v o c a tio n list in c lu d e s disc jockey, civil rig h ts a ctiv ist, to a s tm a s te r,
co ffee h o u s e com ic, lyrics w r ite r , p sy c h o d ra m a a c to r, sex u al
lib e ra tio n sp o k e s p e rs o n , Z e n le c tu r e r, a n d m e d ita tio n te a c h e r. H e
lives w ith his w ife in Los A n g e le s w h e r e h e is c u r re n tly d o ing b o th
tech n ical a n d fre e la n c e w ritin g .

*The Discordian Society was a San Francisco-based dadaist, aesthetic-theological

society whose stock in trade was esoteric satire.